


the stars we haven't named

by neville



Series: thorbruce shorts [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash, Softness, Thor (Marvel) Feels, Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Compliant, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, still pretty gay though, thor is in loooove
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 21:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20495336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neville/pseuds/neville
Summary: Thor and Bruce on the ship back to Earth.





	the stars we haven't named

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this before bed one night bcus i just desperately wanted some more thorbruce softness in my life, but LISTEn, they're in LOVE
> 
> i know that this is pre-slash, but honestly, they're pretty in love with each other throughout this fic

It takes a long time on that ship for Thor to coax Bruce back out; he can hear Bruce’s voice sometimes when the Hulk is dreaming, and sees Bruce’s face in his own dreams, but it’s days and days of the stubborn Hulk and days and days of Thor wondering if this really is it. If Bruce is really gone now.

It’s stupid, really, because when Bruce  _ does  _ finally come back Thor isn’t even there: Bruce wanders into Thor’s bedroom in the middle of the night and repeats Thor’s name softly until he wakes. Bruce’s figure is small and naked and there’s little to make do with on the ship and so he crawls shivering under the covers with Thor, his hair a mess and his eyes still a little shot through with green. “I didn’t want to go,” he says, and in his bleary exhaustion falls asleep there, his fingers curled into Thor’s shoulder. Bruce has never been afraid to touch Thor. Thor is always afraid to touch Bruce because he knows his touch is  _ more. _

They gather more clothes for him when they wake: the Asgardians are plentiful and many offer him their extra layers as freely as they offer him their warm regards. Thor gives Bruce a double portion for breakfast, even though he knows he shouldn’t; but he also doubts that anyone would ever mind. Bruce gulps down his food and then stares out at the stars for a while, transfixed. When Thor asks, he says that they’re just so beautiful. 

“I never dreamed that I would see stars I didn’t know,” Bruce says. “I don’t even have names for them all.”

Thor catches him sometime later; Bruce is draped in a blanket and his cheeks are still warm with laughter from talking to Valkyrie, and they sit together by the throne, watching the galaxy pass by. Bruce still looks awestruck. Thor wants to hold his hand, and so he does: Bruce’s is small and fits in his palm. 

“I’m sorry about Sakaar,” Thor says. Bruce laughs. 

“About what?” he asks, and seems genuinely baffled. Thor frowns. 

“That I was only thinking about the Hulk, and that I wasn’t valuing you at all.” Thor gently runs his thumb across the back of Bruce’s hand, feeling the bumps and valleys of his veins and the crevices of his knuckles. “I should know better than to value nothing but strength.”

“If I had been in your shoes, I think I’d have wanted the Hulk, too.” Bruce leans over, resting his head on Thor’s shoulder. Thor can feel the patterns of his breathing. Bruce is calm. “It’s okay. Thanks for thinking about me.”

Thor nods. 

He’s been thinking about this for so long, and yet Bruce seems unaffected; but he supposes that that’s the way of things, and smiles. Bruce is a warm presence in his life; the calm before, during, and after the storm. Thor loves his eyes. 

He doesn’t notice when Bruce falls asleep until he hears the first lull of a snore, and it sounds like trust. He was going to tell Bruce that maybe they could name these stars themselves; but, he thinks, they’ve plenty of time for that later. 


End file.
